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SALT LAKE CITY — At the age of 15, Lu Ann Cooper became the fourth wife of her 23-year-old cousin as part of the Kingston polygamous group in Utah.
Now, as the president of Hope After Polygamy, Cooper said a bill passed during the 2025 legislative session could have helped to prevent situations like hers and others mentioned in a recent lawsuit against the Kingston family and its associated Davis County Cooperative Society and Latter Day Church of Christ.
On Jan. 22, Kathrine Nichols, another former member of the "Kingston Clan," or "the Order," filed a lawsuit against the Latter Day Church of Christ; its leader, Paul Elden Kingston; and Nichols' ex-husband, Daniel Charles Kingston, who is also her uncle and Paul Elden Kingston's son.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges the sex trafficking of underage order members, rape and abuse. The legal filing claims that Nichols, who was 16 at the time of her marriage, was forced to choose between three of her uncles to marry — with Daniel Charles Kingston, age 19, being the youngest.
Nichols was married to Kingston in 2021, becoming his third wife, after multiple marriage ceremonies in multiple states, the lawsuit alleges. The couple's marriage was annulled in 2023 by a Utah court.
The legal action taken by Nichols is one in a series of lawsuits against the Kingston family, including, most recently, allegations filed in 2022 by 10 former members of the Kingston group also alleging sexual abuse and exploitation.
"It is a problem within polygamy in the state of Utah," Cooper said. "I would hope that this bill would help situations that are in that lawsuit not happen in Utah or not happen at all."
What does Utah's SB76 do?
SB76, which is currently awaiting the governor's signature, would prohibit a juvenile court from authorizing the marriage of a minor if there is an age difference between the parties of more than four years.
Current law allows a 16- or 17-year-old to marry someone up to seven years older than them with the signed consent of the minor's parent or guardian.
The bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, would also require a 72-hour waiting period before the juvenile court can issue the authorization to give the parties more time to reconsider, according to bill sponsor Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City.
"I really wanted to do whatever I could to try to tighten up that space where kids could potentially be subject to predatory behavior," Plumb told the Deseret News on Thursday.
While the bill does not specifically target polygamy, Plumb said that the isolation of polygamous religious communities can make coercive underage marriages more likely.
The Legislature has addressed the problem of underage marriages multiple times in recent years.
In 2019, lawmakers backed a bill that originally would have eliminated child marriages entirely but was narrowed to only outlaw marriages of 15-year-olds and to require parental permission for those under 18.
Since the bill passed, the number of annual youth marriages in Utah has only increased, Plumb told committee members in January, going from 10 in 2019, to 34 in 2020, 30 in 2021, 42 in 2022, and 39 in 2023.
During hearings, a representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics said that youth marriage is sometimes used to cover up statutory rape or human trafficking.
Rep. Grant Miller, D-Salt Lake City, who is an attorney, questioned the wisdom of letting minors enter into what will likely be one of the most serious contracts of their lives before they are 18 and framed youth marriages as a potential "loophole to absolve someone of felonious sexual crime."
Plumb, as with her Democratic colleagues, said she would prefer to ban youth marriages completely. For now, Plumb said, her bill will provide "guardrails" for minors in harmful relationships or in religious communities where their freedom to choose is constrained.
How has marriage policy changed?
Former Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell lobbied on behalf of Plumb's bill after serving as the original sponsor of the 2019 law.
"When we talk about human trafficking, you have to get serious and know that the greatest amount of human trafficking is right here in our state with people under the guise of religion marrying off 13- and 14-year-old girls," Howell told committee members.
In a conversation with the Deseret News, Howell said there are likely "thousands" of families still practicing polygamy within the state. Cases of underage polygamous marriage continue to be "frequent, frequent, frequent," he said.
The Legislature approved several other measures that could impact the practice of polygamy in Utah, according to Howell, including bills that would enhance penalties for human trafficking and clarify the process of reporting child labor.
